In search of a gift that the person on your holiday list can actually use?

Put a bow on an experience.

It’s easy to give stuff but a first-hand experience is all about honing in on a person’s likes and passions. So whether you’re shopping for an adrenaline junkie, a drinker or a gamer, here’s a range of suggestions to get you started, but there are plenty more to consider.

This craft cocktail tour includes stops at four East Village Arts District restaurants and bars. (Courtesy of Beach City Food Tours)

1. FOR THE DRINKER

Southern California has no shortage of bars, but for a more in-depth experience, consider giving a tasting tour.

Zuri Wine Tasting, meanwhile, showcases African-American and Latino-owned boutique wine brands and family-run vineyards with a variety of events, including its weekly Wine Walk Downtown L.A. The four-hour experience includes three stops, breakfast, lunch and a flight of nine different wines for $75. Also offered are private tours of Temecula or Santa Barbara wineries for $259 per person with a minimum of four people. It includes transportation, lunch and tasting fees at three different locations. (424-222-9463, zuriwine.com).

Craft beer lovers can explore the region’s booming scene with a variety of touring companies such as SoCal Brew Bus (424-571-9542, socalbrewbus.com), OC Brewery Tours (949-203-3891, ocbrewery.tours) or LA Beer Hop (323-928-2113, labeerhop.com). There’s also one in Temecula. The wine region is populated by craft breweries that your beer lover can explore with Brewery Tours of Temecula (951-252-9483, brewerytoursoftemecula.com), which offers private weekday and weekend tours for parties of 8 people or more, starting at $89 per guest.

2. FOR THE SEA LOVER

There are plenty of ways to get in the water around Southern California – surf lessons, renting a kayak or doing some yoga on a paddleboard – but we’re focusing on three types of sea experiences.

You can rent a Duffy boat, one of those covered cruisers. Your loved one can tool around Southern California waterways in one of these electric crafts with up to 12 friends, sipping bubbly and enjoying a picnic brunch on the bay. Be aware it’s illegal to operate a boat while under the influence of alcohol so you may want to hire a captain or designate the teetotaler on board as the driver. The good news is Duffy boats handle like golf carts. Rates range, but they can be rented all along the coast at Newport Fun Tours and Rentals (949-675-8433, www.newportfuntours.com), Anchors Away Boat Rentals in Long Beach (949-438-3607, duffyboatrentalslongbeach.com) and Marina Del Rey Boat Rentals (310-306-4444, marinadelreyboatrentals.com).

A view of the Hawaiian Chieftain from aboard Lady Washington during a mock Battle Sails experience in Ventura on Jan. 24, 2016. (Photo by Erik Pedersen/Staff Photographer)

There’s also whale watching. In Southern California, whales are seen year-round. The summer and fall months bring sightings of various types of whales, including blue, finback and humpback. In the winter and spring months, the annual gray whale migration takes place. There are charters all along the coast, but for an intimate experience consider Newport Coastal Adventure’s two-hour inflatable boat adventures for private parties of up to six people for $299, and up to 15 passengers at $56.60-$66.50 a person (949-922-8784, www.newportcoastaladventure.com). Another is Captain Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Watching Safari in Dana Point Harbor, which features underwater glass viewing pods that put folks eye to eye with whales, sharks, dolphins and other marine animals for $5-$65 (949-415-5954, dolphinsafari.com).

And what aspiring mariner can resist a tall ship sailing experience? The educational nonprofit Grays Harbor Historical Seaport’s replica 18th-century ship Lady Washington and her companion vessel Hawaiian Chieftain plan visits to Southern California ports for a variety of sailing experiences, including for the ever-popular three-hour Battle Sails featuring booming cannons and close-quarter maneuvers from Jan. 19-20 and Jan. 26-27. On Feb. 14, there’s even a two-hour Sweethearts Valentine’s Day Sail out of Ventura (800-200-5239, historicalseaport.org).

Aim for the bullseye by booking a class at Riverside Archery where, for $30, your beginning or intermediate archer can hone skills. Private one-hour lessons are also offered at the Riverside shop for $60 (951-684-9192, riversidearcheryca.net). Elsewhere, there’s the non-profit organization Pasadena Roving Archers that trains first-timers at Pasadena’s Lower Arroyo Seco Park on Saturday mornings, with the first class free and $10 per session thereafter (rovingarchers.com).

You can also let your loved one take a whack at the trend of ax-throwing. LA AX, a National Ax Throwing Federation facility based in North Hollywood with additional Southern California locations to open soon, offers gift cards in any amount that include coaching and throwing tips (la-ax.com).

4. FOR THE GAMER

Let them play in an evolving landscape of immersive entertainment, including at the Void, known for its virtual reality walk-through experiences based on the “Rogue One”-era “Star Wars” universe.

In “Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire,” Droid K-2SO leads good-guy rebels on a mission to infiltrate an Imperial ship disguised as stormtroopers and capture intel. Walking around and touch is a big part of this VR experience, available at both the Downtown Disney and Glendale Galleria locations. Tickets are $29.95-$32.95. Purchase gift cards by location at thevoid.com.

And then there’s L.A.-based Two Bit Circus, described by its founders as “a micro-amusement park” with more than 30,000 square feet of VR, carnival fun, vintage and high-tech arcade games, escape rooms and interactive game shows. Gift cards are available in multiple denominations. (213-599-3188. twobitcircus.com)

A sit-down meal of Korean barbecue with Avital Tours in Koreatown. (Courtesy of Avital Tours)

5. FOR THE FOODIE

Adventurous foodies can indulge in Southern California’s culinary scene with a tasty tour that celebrates food, history and culture.

The foodie on your list can sample gourmet tacos at Petiscos in Claremont or artisan cheese at Milkfarm in Eagle Rock with Fun Belly Food Tours (909-974-9513, funbelly.com). Old Towne Orange Walking Food Tours offer different experiences, including a retro American breakfast from Ruby’s Streamliner Lounge at Orange Depot on the Vintage Orange Food Tour, vegetarian fare and gourmet cupcakes on the Orange TasteLAB Tour, and an array of international foods, from empanadas to gelato, on the Orange Sampler Tour (714-404-1661, oldtownorangewalkingfoodtours.com).

Let them eat their way through Southern California’s ethnic enclaves, including East L.A for handmade tamales; Koreatown for Korean-style fried chicken paired with soju; Thai Town for duck noodle soup or San Gabriel’s Chinatown for dim sum, on guided tours with Melting Pot Food Tours (meltingpottours.com), Avital Tours (avitaltours.com) or Six Taste (sixtaste.com).

6. FOR THE COOK

Give the homebody who loves to spend time in the kitchen a hands-on cooking or baking class. Gift certificates are available at cooking classes across Southern California. They include the Gourmandise School of Sweets and Savories in Santa Monica (310-656-8800, https://thegourmandiseschool.com), New School of Cooking in Pasadena and Culver City (844-895-4224, www.newschoolofcooking.com), Claremont Chefs Academy in Claremont (909-625-7505, www.claremontchefsacademy.com), Kitchen Fantasy in Temecula (951-693-4264, www.kitchenfantasy.com), and Hipcooks Cooking Classes and Kitchen in Santa Ana, Woodland Hills and East L.A. (www.hipcooks.com)

A driving experience customer drives a Ferrari 488 GTB around the 1.2 mile track at Exotic Racing at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on Saturday, July 14, 2018. Drivers can choose among Ferrari’s, Lamborghini’s, Audi’s, Porsche’s and the McLaren 570s, with prices for 5 laps beginning at $199 up to $449 depending on the chosen sports car. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

7. FOR THE ADRENALINE JUNKIE

Nothing beats a rush. Southern California provides all sorts of thrills for the person who craves the exhilaration of taking risks, such as jumping out of an airplane at 14,000 feet with Skydive Elsinore (951-245-9939, skydiveelsinore.com). For flights over the Pacific Oacean, book a tandem jump with Skydive Coastal California (805-322-4763, skydivecoastalcalifornia.com).

A casual thrill-seeker can get the same experience in a vertical wind tunnel at Skydive Perris (844-488-6635, skydiveperris.com) or iFLY Hollywood (818-985-4359, iflyworld.com/hollywood) at Universal CityWalk.

Racing experiences are another option and available across the region, including Auto Club Speedway in Fontana where Exotics Racing puts amateurs, at least 18 years old, in the driver’s seat of a Lamborghini, Ferrari or other supercars for five laps around a 1.2-mile racetrack. Younger racing enthusiasts can also get in on the experience, riding shotgun with a pro. Gift packages are available, from $99 for two laps in the front passenger seat of any class of car to $690 for 15 laps in a racecar (702-802-5690, exoticsracing.com). Gift vouchers are also available at the Porsche Experience Center in Carson (888-204-7474, porschedriving.com) and BMW Performance Center West near Palm Springs (888-345-4269, bmwperformancecenter.com).

Los Angeles Daily News reporter Sandra Barrera has been writing about entertainment and lifestyle topics since 1998. Before joining the Daily News in 2000, she was a reporter for the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin in Ontario where she helped launch the now-defunct entertainment magazine 72HOURS as its music writer. Her reporting career at the Daily News has included fashion coverage from the red carpet at Hollywood's biggest awards shows, home and garden trends with a particular focus on earth-friendly alternatives and a wide range of events, from theater to the latest happenings at Six Flags Magic Mountain.